A portion of the above class reserved for majors
Above class open to graduates only
This colloquium is a broad introduction to Britain in the eighteenth
century, and is intended to serve as the basis for preparation for
general exams. Organized thematically, it introduces basic
developments during this period and surveys some of the essential
secondary literature in the field. The course will allow us to
interrogate key concepts and narratives shaping our understanding of
this period—freedom and bondage, modernity and ancient regime,
England and Britain, empire and exploration, hierarchy and misrule,
religion and secularization, radicalism and revolution. At the same
time we will also evaluate the contribution of different
historiographic approaches to the study of this period—intellectual,
social, economic, political and cultural history, to name but the
most obvious ones. The course will be evaluated through a series of
short position papers on the weekly readings.